What can't be recovered
by Rusty Clockwork Wings
Summary: It's been three years since the Battle for Beacon. Nora Valkyrie is alone now when she is suddenly teleported to a place called New York. Nora has a lot of questions. Who is this spider-raccoon-Faunus-kid? How do you not know what a Grimm is? What do they mean "there is no Atlas"? All this pales in comparison to the most important one of all: WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS GUY IS MY FATHER?
1. Chapter 1

It's been three years since the Battle for Beacon. Nora Valkyrie is alone now when she suddenly teleported to a place called New York City. Nora has a lot of questions. Who is this spider-raccoon-Faunus-kid? How do these people not know what a Grimm is? What do they mean "there is no such thing as Atlas"? All this pales in comparison to the most important one of all: WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS GUY IS MY FATHER?

Chapter 1

Where am I? I away from the defeated Nevermore beneath my feet to the hundreds if not thousands of people taking out their Scrolls to take pictures of me, like they have never seen a huntress before. I grew up in a small village outside of the kingdom where they were scarce, and even there, Huntsmen never got the kind of attention I'm getting right now. The people are kind of noisy, and not in the "Let's have fun" way, more like the 'Oh my Gosh! what is that thing!?" kind of way. Everything here looks so weird, the buildings look equal part building and glass. A lot of them are a lot taller than even the Beacon Clock Tower. There was this one building that looked kind of interesting. It looked to have over seventy floors, and what looked like a rounded crown of steal and glass with several points topped with another slightly smaller one, and another, and another, and another before a long thin antenna stuck out of the top. It's weird, I think the shortest building around here looks to be about ten stories, and there are a lot of tall buildings around here. How do they get that tall? Where am I again? This can't be Vale; it is still trying to rebuild itself after the events of the Vytal Festival.

"EXCUSE ME!" I yell. That seemed to get everyone to be quiet. I have a million questions, but Ren isn't he- NO! Don't think about that! Just focus on a single question and don't bombard them with too many. "Where am I?" I ask.

Suddenly a guy in red and blue spandex came out of no where on a white chord of webbing? Is he some sort of Faunus? Why where the getup? If he is supposed to be a spider Faunus like the symbol on his chest and webbing on his outfit suggests, why the funny black-rimmed raccoon eyes? Why red and blue? Why boots in even a weird city like this one? I've seen some really diverse clothing before, but i have never seen someone where a mask. What is going on here? He then tried and was failing miserably at shooing away all of the picture takers that were surrounding me.

"Um, Mr. Spider Raccoon Guy, where am I?" I inquire once more.

He gives me a funny look and his raccoon eyes become thicker and raccoonier. "Oh, um- I'm so sorry miss! Most people can recognize the Chrysler Building. You're on Wall Street," he apologized sincerely yet awkwardly in a way that made me think of Jaune. NO! "I'm Spiderman, not a raccoon."

"Wall Street?" I look around as I shake my blonde teammate out of my head. "I don't see a wall, Mr. Spiderman, not a raccoon?" I looked at him confusedly. "Who names their baby 'Spiderman, not a raccoon;' it's not a very colorful name. It's kind of a weird name. Were your parents that far into denial about you being part raccoon?"

His eyes once again became racoonier. "You're not from around here, are you?" Spiderman, not a raccoon asked. That's right, there was a black and red swirly portal thingy of doom that must have transported me here, but once again, where am I?

I shook my head. "Is this Atlas, by any chance? It may not look like it does in some of the pictures I've seen, but there aren't a lot of places that look this nice anymore or have buildings that tall." Besides, any pictures of Atlas that I am familiar with would be from before the Battle for Beacon.

He shook his head. "No, I think you are reaaally far from home, Miss...?" How far could I be? I was only fighting Grimm a few miles east of- Oh! He wants my name!

"I'm Nora! Nice to meet you, Mr. Spiderman, not a raccoon!" I say excitedly causing him to jump back at my volume level. It's been a long time since anyone has done that. It's been a long time since anyone has been willing to have a conversation with me this long.

"My name is Spiderman! There is absolutely no mention of a raccoon in my name. Well, Nora, what are you doing here?" He asked and muttered something about being better than underoos as he looked eyed me more carefully before eyeing the dematerializing Nevermore beneath my feet. "And what the heck is that!?" he yelled pointing at it.

Okay, this is seriously weird. Even people from other countries have to know what a Grimm is. How sheltered is this Faunus? "Oh! I was on a bounty mission trying to clear out _Salem's_ " I spat that name out like poison, which it might as well be, "forces out of this forest just east of the kingdom of Vacuo. They sicced a giant Nevermore on me and then when I was distracted this portal came out of no where and the birdie and I ended up wherever here is. Also, this is a Grimm, specifically a Nevermore. Haven't you ever seen one before, Spiderman, not a raccoon?"

He palms his face like Ren would sometimes. "I don't think you get how far from home you are. There is no city of Atlas on this planet nor any Vacuo. Come with me, please."

He then lifts me up into a fireman's carry before I can say a word or process what he just said, which is really impressive, given how fast I can start babbling. "What do you mean by that? I know things have gone crazy over the last three years, but there is no way you've never heard of Atlas or Vacuo. What's going on?" I demand as he swings over a bunch of those really tall buildings. I look at Spiderman, not a raccoon, but he seems to be arguing with himself.

"-told you not to call me that, Mr. Stark. She seems really confu- NO! She's not my girlfriend! She just came out of nowhere fighting this giant monster bird with a big hammer mentioning places that don't exist on earth. I don't know what to do with her, and I can't exactly take her home and explain this to Aunt May. I think she may be Asgardian or something. Just take her in for now!"

I feel around looking for Magnhild before finding her secured to my back. Phew! I don't want to lose her after everything we've been through together. It's funny, but the only one capable of lifting her besides me was Pyrr- a friend. She's much too heavy for many people to try, Magnhild, not my friend, yet when she is in my hands or secured to me, people have no problem lifting us both. It's convenient when I don't want others touching her or on the odd occasions I was injured. I just don't get the physics behind it because I didn't design it to do so. It kind of reminds me of these legends my mom used to tell me about this warrior prince from As- "Wait a minute! What do you mean you think I may be Asgardian? They're myths, not real! I'm just a girl from a small village that used to lay outside the kingdoms," I explain. No wonder he doesn't know where Vacuo or Atlas are! He's completely delusional!

"Oooooooooookay, Mr. Spiderman, not a raccoon, I gotta get going. I have Grimm to fight and civilians to protect," I excuse before pushing myself out of his arms. Admittedly, it is a 300 foot drop from there, but I've had much worse, and I like free falling. Quickly, I did a somersault in midair as I positioned my limbs in the appropriate position. I angled both of my legs perpendicular from each other and bent both knees so one was parallel with the ground and the other perpendicular. My fist, where I focused a little of my strength, was extended just a little past my knees and poised to hit the ground. My head tilted downward to the ground, where I focused on the imaginary bull's eye where I wanted to land. As I hit the ground, admittedly, the concrete hurt my knees like hell, but compared to some of the things I've gone through in the past three years, this is nothing.

I pull myself up and run aimlessly through the streets, passing several blocks passing several high end stores that Weiss would probably visit were she here. There has got to be a way to get back to my mission in Vacuo from here. I need to get there and tear down that base. I can't let that witch get away with what she has done. I need to- suddenly my stomach growled like an Ursa that had been starved for weeks. I look around and see a small diner painted a cornflower blue with a red neon sign that says "Diner." Perfect.

I walk in and take a seat next to a tall, blonde man wearing a beige jacket that looks deliberately chosen to be nondescript, navy blue baseball cap, and thick black glasses as well as another man with shoulder-length brunette hair and stubble that reminded me of Ruby's Uncle Qrow. He was wearing a long-sleeved red Henley that appeared to be trying to hide a metal arm. Their posture and the way they seem to discreetly scan the room every time someone entered the room or sat down indicated either time in the military or as a huntsman. They give me a strange glance, and I know I look baby-faced and kind of short. I stopped aging about a year before I started attending Beacon and look to be about 16 despite being about 20. I ignored them for the moment and look at the menu looking for something I can buy for under 5 Lien. I can't afford to eat through my budget, especially if I need to catch a ship back to Vacuo. Oooooooh! They serve pancakes!

When the waitress comes, I place my order. "I'll take a stack of pancakes and some bacon, please." She rolled her eyes at me and asked what I would like to drink. "Strawberry milk, please," I request.

The blonde stares at me. "It's 7:32 in the evening!" he whisper-shouts to the man with the metal arm. He says this like it is the most bizarre thing in the world. It's just pancakes, and I haven't had them in what seems like a long, long time. I haven't had any since the morning before the fight with Team BRNZ. If he feels so uppity about what time I can eat pancakes, he can go home.

I look at the television screen above in the corner to see some form of game being played involving a bunch of men wearing a lot of padded armor fighting over an oblong object. Lame. Where are the fights? The news? something more interesting than a bunch of grown men fighting over a toy?

Soon after I turned my gaze away from the screen, the waitress came by with my strawberry milk and pancakes as well as the burgers the two veteran huntsmen next to me ordered. I look at the metal armed man since he was less judgmental about my choice in a meal. "By any chance, do you know where I can find someone willing to fly an airship to Vacuo?" I asked, a pancake comically dangling out of my mouth.

Both of them looked at me like I grew a second head. "Were there any countries called 'Vacuo' formed while I was on ice?" they both asked each other in unison before the blonde one gave me a "sorry, miss."

I forcefully cut into my pancakes, irritation showing. I'm not usually this grumpy, but I have been on this hunt for years and this is the first major clue I've had in months. "Look, I know travel between kingdoms has become dangerous since the events at Beacon, but I need a ship to Vacuo as soon as possible. You guys and that Spiderman, not a raccoon guy pretending it doesn't exist isn't funny at all!" I scream as the dinnerware broke.

The blonde gave me a placating look, not a scared one like many of the very few people who have seen me genuinely angry give me, but a remorseful one, as if he sincerely did not mean to play such a stupid prank on me. "Miss, calm down. We'll help you after dinner if you just calm down."

Mr. Metal Arm looked to his buddy and whispered, "Steve, are you sure this is a good idea to help this unhinged kid look for fantasyland?"

'Steve?' What is with the weird names here? Even if the naming convention of colorful names has faded since what happened three years ago, these two aren't young enough to escape it. Anyway, I ignore Mr. Metal Arm's question. This is far from the first time someone has made a comment on what they presume my mental status to be.


	2. a home lost

Chapter 2

I had finished my meal and successfully calmed myself own using the breathing technique Ren taught me when we were twelve. All I Have to do is wait for the waitress to bill me. 'Steve' gave me a friendly smile that was as adorable as a box full of puppies while Mr. Metal Arm gave me a wary look. The Chloe the waitress came and chirped, "that will be $4.79, ma'am."

I pulled out my light pink wallet bearing my symbol of a hammer with a lightning bolt running through it and pulled out about 8 Lien. It's not that big of a tip by itself, but if going by percentage, it is over 66%. I handed her the rainbow-colored bills before she gave me a sour look. "We don't accept monopoly money, honey." Her upbeat attitude changing at the drop of a hat.

"What's monopoly money? I gave you 8 Lien; that is more than enough to cover the cost of my meal, silly." I explain genuinely confused. Monopoly? I do suppose Lien was used in most kingdoms, so it could be monopoly money? "What kind of money is used here?" I ask.

Chloe gave me an annoyed look. "We use the dollar, honey, not the ruble, not the pound, and not your Lien fake monopoly money. What do you think you are trying to pull? Do you think I am stupid? That ain't a dollar!" Dollar? What's a dollar? I turn my gaze to the duo beside me who aren't looking like she is making up her own currency. They look a little sympathetic towards me.

"Ma'am, I don't think she is trying to pull anything. I'm pretty sure she is just very confused," Mr. Metal Arm tries to defuse the situation. Confused? Yes, I am confused, but not in the way he is implying. I am confused as to where I am. I am confused as to why you don't accept my money. I am confused as to why no one seems to have ever heard of Vacuo.

The blonde looks her straight in the eye and states, "Ma'am, you are being quite rude to h-" he was suddenly interrupted by a man tall man in a black ski mask and black hoodie wielding a hand gun walk through the door. He looks around and points the gun at the waitress. "You are going to give me all of y-" before he was cut off. I see Mr. Metal Arm was preparing the offensive while Steve was pushing the waitress out of harm's way, but I kind of beat them to the punch, or smash in this case as I use Magnhild to knock the robber into a brick wall.

I then approached his slumped over body and lean forward. "Look, mister, I don't have time to play with you. I just want to get this misconception settled so I can get these two guys," I point to the two veterans, "to help me get back to where I was and finish my mission. You are taking up valuable time that _she_ could be using to cause _more_ pain. Time that _can't_ be recovered. Time that _her_ victims may _never_ have again. Time that a person will not have with the people he or she loves _ever again,_ " I try to hold my voice steady and hide the tears. _Jaune. Pyrrha. Ren!_ They were my family, and now they are gone. Their time was stolen by Cinder and Salem. I can't get it back, but I can make sure they don't steal anyone else's time. "Don't you DARE get in my way just to get a little extra money."

"O-o-okay. I w-w-won't. Don't hit me again!" the robber and would-be murderer pleaded.

"Now, go apologize to the waitress and sit down while we wait for the authorities to arrive," I commanded. She may be rude, but someone loves her, and she loves someone. I can't stand it when people are willing to destroy lives for money. It is sickening.

After the trembling man apologized to the waitress and sat quietly on her bench, Chloe the waitress ran up to me in tears, "You know what, forget about the money. You saved my life!" When she wasn't looking, I slipped 8 Lien into her pocket. She may be willing to forgo my money, but she needs to be able to feed herself. Times are tough, and food is scarce.

Mr. Metal Arm just looked at me, "that was quite a swing for a kid. Where did you learn to hit like that, short stack?" Short stack? I may be short compared to say Pyrrha, but there is no need to point it out like that! That is just mean!

"Well, I was born in a small village outside of the kingdoms," I give him the most succinct answer I could pass through my lips in a quiet voice. I can't breathe! Even at my chattiest, I don't like talking about what happened. It's like a coil of barbed wire tightens around my heart every time I even reference it, and Ren once pointed out that I will literally turn grey when talking about it. The acrid scent of smoke and burning flesh clawing at your throat and eyes! The wailing of the sirens and screaming of those you hold dear assaulting your ears! The heat that feels like it is ready to melt the flesh right off of your body that you have to run through just to make it to a place where you aren't a flame-broiled people burger for a Grimm! Just make it stop! "MAKE IT STOP!"

I open my eyes to see both of them looking at me with these worried looks on their faces. I could feel tears making their way down my cheeks and my hands blocking my ears. Oh. "I-I'm sorry. I used to be able to pass myself off as one of the happiest people in all of Remnant. I hid my pain behind because I knew that if I started crying, it would be near impossible to stop. Now, I am little more than a shell of that bubbly girl who could talk your ear off in a single breath. I don't push it away because it is what I have left," I apologize. Pain and I coexist. We have to so I can get through this. I have to complete my mission for Team JNPR! "I gotta get back to Vacuo fast. You said you'd help me! This was the best lead I've had in months, and I can't leave this mission unfinished," I insist as the frustration of chasing down dead end after dead end leaked into my voice.

Steve sighed. "We will, but right now you need a night to calm yourself down. How about the three of us meet up with my team and we'll figure out where Vacuo is. After we do that, get at least a night's sleep and at least one of us should be able to pull some strings to get you there within the week."

~x~

The building was a bit rundown, as if purposely selected to be one that no one would look for anyone. There were two threadbare royal blue couches perpendicular from each other and a tan rug. There was a simple worn oak coffee table situated between the couches and a fifty inch television screen. There were a few industrial looking lamps keeping the place lit and multiple doorways.

"You've gotta be kidding me. Cap, you are going to let a teenage girl go on some unknown mission!? Bucky, you let him bring home a kid who is hell-bent on what appears to be a suicide mission in some land neither of you are sure exists!? Does 'keep a low profile if we want to avoid The Raft' mean nothing to you two?" A dark-skinned man with metal wings screeched. I don't know why, but he reminds me of a very parental harpy.

'Bucky' splutters, "But mom, I _told_ him it was a bad idea. Why am I getting in trouble for this?" He gave Mama Harpy his wounded puppy look. I think he'd make a better Puppy Man than a Bucky. Squeeing response activating. Cannot resist the urge to-

Suddenly, I find myself tackling him to the floor in an excited embrace while squeaking out an "Awwwwwwwwwwww! Don't worry Puppy Man! Magnhild and I will protect you from Mama Harpy!" I then embrace him more tightly. He tried to wiggle free, but failed.

"Great!" Mama Harpy gritted out. "Now, you got her doing it too!" He then decides to lie back down on a comfy looking blue sofa next to an oak coffee table. "A rough divorce with Tony's side of the team, and I end up with three kids without you bringing her home and a handful of uncles who encourage them despite having biological children of their own..." he groaned.

"I'm 20! Not a kid!" I retort as I continue to cuddle an unwilling Puppy Man on the floor. He appears to have accepted his fate.

"That 'Puppy Man' you are tackling on the floor is nearly a century old, as is Cap here, and somewhere over the rainbow bridge, we have a couple millennia old pop tart enthusiast. Age is irrelevant here." Mama Harpy informs me. What are they feeding these people here? "Why did our occasionally green therapist have to be the one to run off to who knows where?"

Green therapist? "I don't think he was that kind of doctor," Steve replied while bringing out a map. Finally, I can show them I am not crazy and get back to my mission. I release Puppy Man to sit next to the coffee table. I look at the map fully prepared to show them where Vacuo is, but there is a problem. "Bring out the real map!" I demanded. these continents look nothing like they are supposed to. Where is Vale? Menagerie? Vacuo? Heck, I'd be happy just to see Mistral!

"Miss, this is a real map," Steve lied like the liar, liar pants on fire that he is! "Things may have changed since the 1940s, but the planet Earth hasn't." Earth? What is that?

"Where is Earth? I want a map of Remnant! Not this fictional Earth place! Will you people all stop playing this sick joke on me!?" I screamed before running out the door, only to be confronted by absolute proof that this isn't Remnant. The moon is whole! The moon is whole, and I am far away from home. I couldn't help it, I just hung my head and shut down. Breathe in. I am even further from home than I thought possible. Breathe out. Breathe in. I have no clue how to get back. Breathe out. Breathe in. Team JNPR is gone. I failed _all_ of them! I _couldn't_ protect them! Not Pyrrha! Not Jaune! Not Ren! One of them would know what to do right now, but I couldn't even finish _this_ mission! I can't do anything right! I can't breathe! This feeling is just suffocating me!

Suddenly, there is a hand on my shoulder. I look up to see Steve just standing there with this empathetic look on his face, not pity but empathy. "Miss, calm down. You're a long way from home. It's a big shock, especially when you're alone. Trust me, I know. I don't know if we can get you home, but we're willing to take you in for now."

With tears in my eyes, I look up at him, "I-I-I don't have a home or a family to go back to any more. I just want to finish my mission. I'm not sure what I was going to do after that anyway. The last couple years of my life have been consumed by this need to avenge my teammates. I know it won't bring them back, but I'd be able to stop them from causing others to feel this pain that I carry."

Steve shook his head. "Imagine that pain without having a mission to fall back on. I just ended up taking whatever mission SHIELD offered to me. Imagine that pain of just being tossed into a bizarre new world and then onto a team of total strangers who cannot seem to get along to save their lives, let alone the world."

I gave a mirthless chuckle. "Sounds like Team RWBY at the beginning."

Steve looked at me with a confused look. "Team Ruby?"

I nodded. "They were another team at Beacon Academy, my friends and neighbors. You had Ruby, who was young, hopeful, a little hyper, and full of life. Then Weiss, who was kind of snobbish and a bit of an ice queen, but she was loyal and brave. Then there was Blake who was quiet, calm and collected, but knew when to stand up for herself and others. Lastly, there was Yang, who could be a bit of a hothead at times. She was wild, adventurous, and rash. There was a ton of tension at the beginning, but it smoothed out until the day _everything fell apart_."

Steve somehow sensed that I didn't want to talk about that day, the day that shook the world. "Everything you know may be gone, but that doesn't mean you can't have a new home and a new family. I know the thought of it hurts, but it's better than being alone.

I sigh. Why not? I don't have anywhere else to go. My name is Nora Valkyrie, and this is how my adventure on earth started.


	3. Chapter 3

I seriously had about 857 words of this done by Friday, was going to work on it Saturday, but I didn't get any sleep until about 10:30 am, and promptly woke up around 1. Good news was that I was no longer watching words float over my head; bad news is that I felt like I could not trust any words I typed. By the way, the blanket happens to be a happy accident that I was trying to think of a description for a blanket and all I could think of is this blanket a friend of mine owns. Thor will appear eventually; he just has his hands full at the moment. Also, it would be just touch too convenient for him to show up so soon after Nora shows up. There will be some points where I will show what is going on in Asgard though.

Chapter 3

I woke up the following morning on a blue couch with a tapestry throw blanket that was missing a few strings bearing this funny-looking yellow animal with a zigzag tail that was predominantly yellow, but brown at the base, two long ears that were black near the tips, and a bright red circle on both of its cheeks. It had the word "Pikachu" in big letters at the bottom. I've never seen such a creature, but it looks so adorable that I want to capture one and keep it for a pet. I'll name it Jaune and protect him and keep him safe forev- WAIT! I don't remember checking into a hotel room or buying a cute blanket. What happened?

There was this totally weird map that didn't look anything like Remnant on the coffee table. Suddenly, Mama Harpy and a white man with short brown hair came into the room, and I remembered how far away from home I am. "Good morning, Mama Harpy," I greeted.

The brunette man yawned, "Sorry about the Pikachu blanket. Sam asked me to pick up a blanket and pillow at the thrift store, and the Pikachu one reminded me of my daughter. I also bought a light pink pillow, but you scratched and bit when we tried to put it under your head," he explained. He then tossed me a pillow that matched my skirt and fingerless gloves. I hugged it tightly and smiled at the gesture these complete strangers went through for me.

"Thank you! What's a Pikachu? Is that what the adorable animal is? Where can I get one, Mama Harpy?" I pouted at the man.

The nice man who got me the blanket chuckled and gave a cheeky grin. "The guys weren't kidding when they said you aren't from around here. How many children does this make now, Mama Sam?"

Mama Harpy looked clearly annoyed, "Widow has Vision, Spiderman, and Tony. We are still awaiting Thor's return to figure out who gets custody over him, but right now, I have Wanda, Steve, Bucky, and- wait! You spent the night on our couch and those two couldn't even get your name?" Oh boy, that is not a good face. "I'll chat with those two later. What exactly is your name, sweetie?" He asked like I was five. Admittedly, I can be very childish when I want to be, but still...

"I'm Nora. It's nice to meet you." I introduce myself. "You didn't have to get me such a nice blanket or pillow."

The two men looked flabbergasted. "I-I'm Scott, and you have already met Sam. It's no problem, really. It's just an old blanket I picked up from the thrift store." All of my stuff was left in a small tent in my world, and the blanket I had was old and thin. I made due without a pillow by stuffing my extra outfit into a pillow case. After having to stow away from country to country, I couldn't really take more than I could carry on me. Pillows and thick blankets were pushing it.

"Still, it's a really sweet gesture," I insist.

Suddenly, Puppy Man and Steve burst through the door, falling on top of each other. I couldn't help it, it reminded me so much of Ren and me that I started laughing uncontrollably, heck, even the whole of team JNPR had moments like that such as right before the first day of class. What I wouldn't give to go back to that day before Cinder and Salem took everything? I lost someone I consider an older sister and my home in one day, and that was just the beginning. What I wouldn't give to go back to the day Cinder first came to Beacon, disguised as a student from Haven. What I wouldn't give to be able to recover everything their actions have stolen or destroyed! Beacon, Pyrrha, Jaune, Ren, Yang's arm, Blake, and Ruby! Weiss lost it and dedicated her life to using her family's influence to rebuild as much as she could and restore order. Yang went on her own suicide mission. It's all because of those two!

Suddenly, a pair of fingers was inches from my face just snapping repeatedly. "Nora, are you okay? You just had so many emotional changes so fast that you gave Mama Sam-" Scott started.

"Don't call me that!" interrupted Mama Harpy.

"-whiplash! You went from laughter to sobbing to growling in anger in just under a minute," Scott concluded with a worried face.

I take a minute to compose myself, "I'm o **kay** ," I try to excuse but my voice cracks on the second syllable of 'okay,' and a hot tear runs down my cheek. Take a deep breath Nora. It is painful, but you've survived. "My mind is a roller coaster. You reminded me of a really _good_ memory from back before everything was broken, but my mind can't just stay in the happy memories. It keeps orbiting back to _**that day.**_ Then, I remembered why I embarked on my 'suicide mission,' and wh- **who** I lost along the way. I remembered the effect it had on the few who survived, and who caused this _pain_ in our hearts! I would give just about anything to wake up to **Ren** making pancakes again, or to see **Pyrrha** pining after our other friend, or even **Jaune** trying to play the acoustic guitar," I try to refrain myself from sobbing, but in the end, it is just too much. Great, now these people keep seeing me crying. I need to stop. I need to stop! Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

I turn my head to see that they have this funny look in their eyes, not quite pity though. "Nora, you couldn't have found a group of people who understand you more. I used to wake up screaming for my boy, Riley," Mama Harpy empathized. "Steve and Bucky here are all that's left of the Howling Commandos. There is not one person here who isn't intimately familiar with loss. We can help you," he spoke in a calm voice as if I was a frightened child.

I look him in the eyes once my heartbeat and tears were under control. "Th-thank you. I-I-I don't kn-know what to say. Uh- um-" I'm not kidding. I literally have no clue what to say. Ummmm, change the subject! Don't think about sad stuff! "Is there a gym nearby? Or even just a park where I can go for a jog?" I ask

Steve just nodded. "You can join me and Sam on our morning jog after breakfast if you want," he offered.

I grinned, a jog and someone to race? I haven't had that in _sooooo_ long! Beaming, I sprang off the couch. "Let's go!" I chirped and followed them into the "kitchen."

The kitchen was an old break room of employees that once worked in this place when it was a warehouse. There were two cheap, plastic folding tables surrounded by metal folding chairs that you might see in a school that isn't Beacon. There was a toaster, a microwave, and a refrigerator. No oven, but Mama Harpy mentioned yesterday that they were keeping a low profile and installing one would probably bring attention that they don't want. Sitting at the table was a young woman, not that much older than I. She has pale skin like porcelain and blue eyes. Her brunette hair is long and comes down in waves to her shoulder blades. She is wearing a scarlet corset and matching red leather jacket that went halfway to her knees and black jeans. There was a brunette man with highlights of in his short hair gelled upwards. His eyes were a deep blue, and he had the musculature of an archer. I'm willing to bet his fingers are calloused. He had a bit of stubble and appeared to be in his late thirties to early forties. He was wearing this odd eggplant colored Kevlar shirt with a long right sleeve and short long sleeve.

"Okay, I know you mentioned taking a kid under your wing, Sam, but I didn't think you meant a _kid_ -kid. She's what? Fifteen? Shouldn't she be in school?" Eggplant man asked.

Before I could say a word, Steve opened his mouth first, "Clint, this is Nora. She's a twenty year old accidental guest from another world. Nora, meet Clint Barton," he gestured to Eggplant man, "and Wanda Maximoff," he pointed to the lady in scarlet.

Clint the Eggplant studied me intently before his eyes seemed to narrow on a single point, "So we're fugitives hiding from so many governments it would make your head spin," before glancing at me and adding, "for justifiable reasons of not wanting to be glorified errand boys bending to only fight for _their_ cause and bending to _their_ whim as to who to take down and who to save," okay, that is better, "and you're taking in a stray who shouldn't be part of this world, let alone caught up in our fight? What do you _think_ is going to happen to her if we are _caught?_ Newsflash! These people don't care if she's fifteen or twenty. They wouldn't even care if she was five. If she is lucky, she'll be tossed in a cell. If she's unlucky, ask _Bruce_ what happens to anomalies?"

I puff out my shoulders and look him in the eyes, "you say that like you know my life story. You don't! You weren't there when my life went to hell the first time, or the second, or third, or fourth time. You talk like living here is bad, but this isn't anywhere close to the worse I've faced. You're prison doesn't scare me. I live my fear _every day_ ," I glare. Everything is flashing through my head, but it feels like there is a soothing presence trying to siphon off the pain.

Something seems to strike a chord with Wanda as a hand is placed over her mouth and tears fill her eyes. "Clint, stop. Even if we do kick her out, whether she is here or her world, she has no home to go to," she whispers in a broken voice before passing me a pouch of "strawberry Pop Tarts?" What are these?

It tastes like a sweet pastry with this delicious strawberry filling! I devour the delicious pastry in seconds before Clint the Eggplant just bursts into laughter. "What is with people from other worlds and Pop Tarts?"

I cock my head to the side before stealing the whole 16 pack and opening another pouch. "What are you talking about?" I ask with my mouth full. That used to drive Ren nuts when we were young.

Clint just shook his head, "Nothing. You just remind me of another friend."

I then open yet another pouch of Pop Tarts. Men are weird. Who wouldn't devour these? Besides, I have a tendency to eat more than most due to not always knowing when my next meal will be. Sometimes it is at the end of the day, and sometimes it is three days from now. Before ten minutes were up, I had eaten through the entire box of Pop Tarts before letting out a hearty belch. "Ah! Now time for a work out!" I beamed.

"Is that what it was like meetin-" Bucky started.

"Pretty much," Steve cut him off before he realized something. "Hey, Wanda. Could Nora borrow one of your outfits? She literally only has the clothes on her back," he asks. "Do you have any work out clothes?" He asks.

I try to ignore the feeling of being a charity case as she hands me a red silky feeling, breathable tank top with this weird symbol of two elongated arches intersecting with each other and a pair of red shorts made of the same material. Admittedly, they probably fit her long lean body better than my short one.

Steve is wearing a white shirt of the same material as mine and bearing the same symbol. It looks good on his body, but I can't help the desire to just rip it off and drool over his musculature. He is also wearing royal blue sweat pants.

Mama Harpy is wearing a grey sweatshirt with some kind of badge-like insignia just above the left breast and charcoal grey shorts that reach his knees.

I look to see Puppy Man wearing a black hoodie and matching sweat pants. I want to ask him why he's wearing that, but Mama Harpy just whispers, "he's trying to avoid being recognized, and the metal arm is a little more conspicuous than necessary." Puppy Man then pulls the hood up to obscure his face. A few questions about this pop into my head, but I push them aside for now.

~x~

I dash past Steve and Puppy Man with ease as I admire the beauty of the trees. Mama Harpy seems to be especially slow. Is he feeling well? "Come on! My grandma can run faster than you guys!" I taunted as I feel the sea breeze against my skin. It's such a wonderful feeling that makes me just want to explode with how amazing it feels, even though it is a little more polluted than Vale's air. Do they not know how to take care of their planet?

From the other three, I hear voices saying stuff along the lines of, "the hell?" and "Is this what we feel like when we pass you?" Oh well! I promptly pass them again. Even my own teammates can't keep up with me on a morning run. I am not able to have a run like this often. Don't get me wrong. I do go out for a run pretty often, but I often have to worry about tripping over- "Oh! Hi again, Mama Harpy!" tree limbs and keepi- "Keep up, Steve! Puppy Man!" -ng out of sight of patrolling enemies. I probably did about 45 laps around the park before taking a spot next to an exhausted Mama Harpy.

"Where *pant* the hell *pant* are you from?" he asks as he breathes heavily. Why? This is kid stuff!

I then get into a position to do push-ups. I start to do a few. Steve and Puppy Man join me once they are done their own 30 laps. It's nice to see people actually try to keep up with me when I work out. For some reason, people tend to give up pretty early when I work out with others. Before I know it, I'm at 100 push-ups, and Mama Harpy is joining me. I love the feeling of a workout. I can feel myself get stronger each day. I want the strength to take down those who have hurt the people I love with one punch. Mama Harpy then promptly falls onto his belly when I reach 300. Steve and Puppy Man appear to be keeping up though. "Keep up, cream puffs!" I command in my coaching voice. We kept going and going until we reached about 500 push ups!

Okay, now for some sit ups. I place my hands behind my head and get into a squatting position before pulling myself up with ease. I know this is hard if you aren't in shape, but this is part of what has kept be sane these past few years in this discipline to make myself stronger and more capable of fighting every day. Every day, no matter where I was, no matter what was happening, I would always do some kind of a work out. I remember Weiss looking me partly as if I were insane when I briefly visited her during a trip to Atlas and partly in respect as she trained just as hard on her fighting skills. I quickly reach 400 sit-ups and look next to me to see the stare of Steve. "Are all people from where you come this fit? Even the Super Serum has trouble keeping up with all of this after our run!"

I give him a brief shake of my head as I continue my sit-ups. "No, but I was never able to understand why," I sigh. Why were others unable to withstand a simple workout? Why have I survived so far? Ren should have lived, not me. A single tear fell from my cheek after my 585th sit-up. You will be avenged, Ren. I'll get back to Remnant, and you will be avenged. I continue to 750 sit-ups.

I was about to move on to jumping jacks when this woman with the beautiful red hair and a skintight black leather body suit walks up to the others. "Are you finally getting old, grampa?"


	4. Just another trip to the gym

I know some of you are waiting for Thor. At the moment, Thor and Bruce are kinda busy. Nora is just still getting used to things on earth right now, and I want her to grow to like Midgard as well as settle her psyche to a state where she doesn't have as many angsty moments. I also want to give the Avengers time to get attached to Nora before I shake things up.

Chapter 4:

"Natasha, what are you doing here?" Steve asked the redhead. There was both happiness and sadness in his eyes. It's kind of confusing.

This Natasha lady responds, "Steve, I'm not here to turn you guys in. Tony may not be ready to have sleepovers and paint nails with Bucky, but he has made sure to do as slipshod of a job possible looking for a certain group of fugitives. One might even say he is covering for them." She appears calm and joking, but I have had enough practice reading people who hide their emotions to know that there is a sadness behind her words, not sadness as in she's sad they aren't in prison, but sadness as in a guilty feeling over something that happened in the past. It reminded me of Jaune's voice whenever he talked about Pyrrha. He never wanted to talk about it to me, but I think he regretted all of the venting about Weiss to her and not realizing how he felt about her until right before the battle with Cinder, but that's not the guilty feeling in her eyes.

"Shame, I was hoping to talk about boys all night with him," Puppy Man retorted sarcastically, but his eyes also held guilt, but not the kind of guilt in Natasha's eyes. His appears to be a more haunted kind of guilt, like Ozpin has whenever he made a vague reference to his past.

Steve lightly whacks the back of Bucky's head. "Anyway, if you're not here to turn us in, why are you here?"

"Besides visiting my favorite Dorito American? The new kid in class mentioned something about a girl falling out of a portal. I was going to ask you to keep lookout for her, but apparently you became fitness buddies with her." Huh?

I pout. "Why is she keeping a lookout for me? I haven't caused much property damage yet. Okay, I hit a robber with a hammer, but he was being a Mr. Meanie Face and going to rob that diner. I had to protect the people there... and the pancakes! It's not like I created a giant crater with only Dust and a sneeze. Not that anyone should have been mad at that anyway. Beacon looked a lot better with a crater! That wasn't me by the way. Weiss had no reason to be a brat to Ruby for that!" I ramble.

Natasha gives me this funny look. Mama Harpy then takes the time to cut in, "look, aside from the workout from hell and the robber incident, she hasn't done anything to show she is anymore a menace than your freshman. She's just a girl who managed to fall down a rabbit hole. She's in a strange world she doesn't quite understand, and she has no where else to go," he says with a tone that implied that I was a little lost puppy.

"Uh- did you guys completely skip over the part where a sneeze caused a crater? Shouldn't you be concerned over what if she catches a cold?" she eyed me suspiciously. It wasn't the sneeze, it was the Dus-.

"Ohhhh, I'm guessing Dust with a capital D translates to something completely different here than an unstable chemical compound created from crystals mined by the Schee dust company and used to enhance weapons or semblance?" I ask. I then realize how kinda nerdy I sound and wish Ren were here to see this.

Mama Harpy's mouth just hangs wide open. "No..." He says like the concept completely baffles him. "So the dust and allergens won't make you sneeze a crater into our world?"

I giggle. "No, Mama Harpy, you silly head. If I sneeze, I sneeze. Now are you going to do jumping jacks with me?" I inquire, fully aware how young I sound.

The redhead rolled her eyes. "Why don't you skip the jumping jacks and just do 100 push ups, 100 sit ups, 100 squats, and a 10 kilometer run with me?"

Steve opened his mouth before I could say a word, "trust me, she's already past that."

I laugh. "I don't suppose you know where a good gym around here is?"

Natasha puts on a slight smirk. "It's a bit of a walk, but I think I know a place in Hell's Kitchen that might work." A kitchen? Do they have pancakes there? Nothing like a workout and pancakes! And SYYYRUP! What are we waiting for?

"Count me in!" I chirp

This gym was very unassuming and slightly rundown looking. It was an old brick building in a bad part of town. The word "FOGWELL'S" was arched above the word "GYM" in burgundy sans serif lettering on a translucent glass window on the door. When I entered, there was the same lettering of "FOGWELL'S GYM" on the wall. Next to it was dangling a punching bag. Actually, there were a few of them dangling around the place as well as a few lockers placed against the wall. In the center, there was a boxing ring that looked a tough dingy. It's seen better days, but I've made due with a lot worse. Over in the far corner was a man in a sleeveless black shirt and dark grey sweatpants. He had impressive looking biceps triceps. There were bandages covering his hands so as to protect the joints as he kept hitting the punching bag repeatedly in small clusters of two and three hits. He had short, neat chestnut hair atop his head, and a light sheen of sweat glistened on his skin. He had these eyes that were a beautiful cocoa but kinda hazed over.

"Matt, you can stop pretending you don't notice we're here." Natasha calls out.

The man with the cocoa eyes then walks over to a bench next to the boxing ring and grabs a pair of ruby colored glasses and a white cane with red near the handle before walking towards us. He clicks the cane in front of each step he is about to make as he walks in our direction. "Hello again, Natasha. I didn't expect you to bring so many guests," he greets politely. "Matt Murdock, full time lawyer with an appreciation for boxing."

I stare at the man, and if I didn't know better, I'd think he's staring back at me. Something about him gives me the impression that he has better observation skills than most give him credit for. He just seems so focused on our group. It would not surprise me if he could detect our every breath and movement from how intently he seemed to focus on us. "No, Steve." Natasha interrupted my thoughts, "I think representing you guys against 117 governments is a bit over even Matt's head, that is without getting around the Patriot Act for Bucky after Zola framed him."

That caught my attention. I knew they were fugitives, but 117 governments? I gasp! "Who'd want to frame Puppy Man?! He's way _too_ cute and cuddly to frame! Just look at his Puppy Man face," I demand while pinching his stubbly cheek. I then proceed to glomp him tightly. The others were laughing themselves to tears. Natasha even pulled out a small camera and took a picture of us together.

"Oomf" Puppy Man grunted. I guess I hugged him a little too tight.

"Don't worry, Puppy Man! No government is going to take you while I'm around!" I announced boldly and protectively and squeeze him tighter. I'll protect someone this time. I won't let another friend fall, I promise.

"Miss," Matt begins in a baritone voice that for some reason reminds me of Ren, "I think 'Puppy Man' needs to breathe." I let go of Puppy Man in shock of how Ren-like he sounded at the moment.

Natasha then takes this moment to jump in. "Before you say anything, I know that you guys are far from the first people not on good terms with the law to enter this building. Matt, most of them did nothing more than literally refuse to sign over their souls to the government, and you have defended men guilty of worse." She smirked. That sentence was more for our benefit than Matt's. She was assuring the others of Matt not turning us in, as well as giving me details on why they are on the bad side of the government.

"Enough with the jibber-jabber! Let's start the workout!" I whined. We were wasting daylight, and I want to finish my workout before noon. I then grab a punching bag and give it two quick right hooks before a left. I remember the time Pyrrha and I went to the gym together. Right Jab! Left jab! Right Jab! She kept pretending the bag was Cardin's face and punching it repeatedly. Right Jab! Left jab! Right Jab! She tried to do so without the gloves like I usually did and got a boxer's fracture on her second metacarpal as a result. Right Jab! Left jab! Right Jab! I remember sparring with her as we tried to improve our own offenses and defenses. Right Jab! Left jab! Right Jab! I remember how I accidentally put her arm in a sling by the end of the session. Right Jab! Left jab! Right Jab! I kick the bag! The red, heavy bag touched the ceiling with both right hooks before the left one kinda knocked the bag clean off the chain. It flew across the room as it spilled sand everywhere. "Awwwww! It's broken! They didn't use to break that easily back in Beacon," I whine.

Matt looked kind of annoyed that I broke the punching bag. "That's a $90 dollar punching bag, and my law practice is essentially dead right now. Even if it wasn't, I was being paid in pies and casseroles."

Natasha smirked. "Don't worry, I'll use Tony's credit card information to get you a new punching bag and some shiny, new equipment. Tony will barely even notice."

Matt had a very lawyery look on his face and made an inquiry, "What's the catch?" His ruby quartz glasses seemed to gleam in the light.

"Just allow them to come and go in and out of this gym for now. Other gyms may not respect their privacy," Natasha bargained.

I then raised my hand excitedly, "can we get some weights?" I inquire. "Like _reaaaaally_ heavy ones? I was only able to bench 5 of me when I left Beacon. I can bench several times that now, but I need to get stronger!" Everyone's jaw dropped.

"Why don't you just get her a couple Jeeps to lift?" Puppy Man suggested sarcastically as he palmed his face with his metal arm. I likes the idea and glomped him again. I don't know what a Jeep is, but hopefully it weighs more than 22 of me.

Natasha smirked at the idea, reminding me of myself whenever Jaune said something that he never expects me to take seriously. He kinda figured out that giving me ideas was dangerous, especially when I improved them. This one time, he suggested I get Ren a clown for his birthday because "everyone loves clowns." I decided the plan wasn't good enough and decided to get him something better: a clown puppy! I spent days and days and tons of effort trying to find just the right gift before I found a Beowulf puppy and gave it clown makeup. Too bad Ren didn't want to open it. Apparently, growling gifts scare Pyrrha. Professor Port was more than happy to take the pup in. I think most of my peers developed a fear of clowns after that. And gifts. And me. After that, anyone who had a birthday avoided any gifts I gave like the plague. Weiss even assumed I had the plague contained within the gift. It was only a Nevermore egg!

Matt's head turned towards Natasha. "So you want me to share Fogwell's with a couple fugitives?"

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Electra? Stick? Frank? On occasion Danny and Luke? Is there anyone who visits this building that isn't a fugitive or vigilante?" she retorts smugly. "We all know that despite being a lawyer, you have some interesting choices in friends. You defended the Frank Castle saying he had 'sympathetic storming.' You have a soft spot for people trapped in the cages of their circumstances when you aren't beating the crap out of them."

Matt sighed, "Fine, but you're the devil."

The upper left corner of Natasha's lips quirked upwards into a smirk, "Takes one to know one."


	5. Chapter 5

For those of you looking forward to Thor and Bruce's return, that will probably be around chapter 11 maybe chapter 12. I was wondering what the heck I should do about Odin, but the MCU answered that important question for me.

Chapter 5

It's been a week since I arrived here, and I'm slowly getting used to the idea of staying here. Puppy Man, Steve, and I just spent a good portion of yesterday setting up the new equipment in the gym, though Matt wasn't too happy about Natasha actually purchasing a Jeep for me to bench. There were a few mumbles of "she's not human" from the others. Why does everyone make that assumption?

Natasha decided to take me shopping this morning after she discovered I have been borrowing clothes from Wanda's closet over the past few days. When I insisted otherwise, she responded, "Tony makes enough that I could buy an island and plate it with gold and it would not dent his bank account. You need clothes that actually fit someone of your height."

Okay, yeah. Sometimes I have to cuff the pant-legs because they are too long on me or roll up the sleeves on any jacket. I was never very tall. When we started at Beacon, Ruby and I were approximately the same height despite me being two years older. Every time I dress in Wanda's clothes, I look like a little girl in her older sister's clothes. I didn't mind this too much because I had spent so much time as a wanderer, just having more than one extra set of clothers seemed like a luxury. We were going to walk from Battery Park to Fogwell's Gym in Hell's Kitchen to Manhattan, but we passed through this area. Natasha called it Chinatown. Every sign was unreadable to me. Many of the signs were red with gold letters, though there were some that contained green or white. Red and gold were favorites though. A couple stores and buildings had these paper lanterns that looked like balloons with little dangly thingies. Some were red. Some were green. Some were blue. They weren't overly fond of white though. I'm not kidding when I say one restaurant had several of these skinny, cooked chickens dangling in the windows. In quite a few places, there were these caricatured cat trinkets holding up one paw. Then, I saw the thing that made me stop.

In the window of a store, there was a couple tailcoat shirts in different colors. One was emerald green with black around the collar and several gold tie-button-thingies on it. There appeared to be an intricate swirling, golden pattern on the coattails. The lining was red, and it even had the light pink cuffs on the sleeves. I just stayed glued to the spot. Every detail looked the same, but it wasn't his.

"I know it looks nice, but that's not the type of clothes we're shopping for,' Natasha's voice interrupted my thoughts.

I give her a sad look. "No. Do you have that one friend who knows your story and doesn't judge you for it? Someone who has walked a thousand miles by your side and will walk a thousand more? Someone who guards your secrets? The one friend who is supposed to be with you until- _until the end of the line?"_ I feel my heart shattering in my chest. I clasp my hands to my chest before I feel the edges of the picture I taped to the inside of my shirt. I try to keep this picture somewhere on me at all times, and it had luckily been in the pocket of my combat skirt when I arrived in this new world.

 **Meanwhile in Asgard**

3rd Person POV

It had been an hour since the arrival of the two Avengers in Asgard. One was a prince of this realm named Thor who had left to be with a woman he fell in love with while in exile (long story), and the other was a man who wasn't quite used to kindness, let alone the respect he was told he would be given as the prince's "Brother in arms." The second man was named Bruce and had been used to living in impoverished areas. He was not quite used to a literal _golden palace_ that awaited on this sojourn. It was equal parts amazing and terrifying to be here. However, this was not a pleasure trip. A little over two years ago, the prince had been given a vision that his realm was in danger. He and his companion had crossed many worlds in an attempt to return to Asgard to protect it from this incoming threat.

The duo crossed the Bifrost bridge that reminded Bruce of a stone called quartz or of a particularly tough level in Mariokart. Vaguely, he wondered how many Asgardian children and gokarts have been lost to this thing? Bruce then internally cursed his time with a man named Tony Stark. Through the bridge ran flickers of many different colors, giving it the nickname of "rainbow bridge." They crossed this bridge to approach a dark skinned, bearded man with what were supposed to be orange eyes.

"Heimdall, what news have you for me today?" Thor asked as he approached.

"I see no threat to Asgard," the Gatekeeper stated matter-of-factly, but there was something strange in his voice. "I however hear one, _Thor_ _Odinson."_ The man spat Thor's name in a voice that was not his own. It was a female voice, low and haunted and filled with disdain. When Thor came closer, he saw no iris or pupil in the man's eyes.

"Umm, Thor, I don't think Heimdall is Heimdall right now," Bruce explained. He knew Thor could probably tell, but this was the same man who took three weeks trying to figure out the magical secret to get the toaster to work.

Thor glared at the Gatekeeper and shouted, "Come out, you coward!"

"Your father is the coward! He was so afraid of the prophesy that in his measures to prevent it, he ensured it!" The voice coming out of the Gatekeeper's mouth taunted. "You and your father claim to rule in the name of _peace_ and _justice,_ but I know the truth of the tyrant in Odin's flesh! I know about the secrets he hid! My brothers will rise! Asgard will burn, and it will be the fault of the house of _Odin._ "

Suddenly, his eyes returned to normal. "Ummm... Mr. Heimdall, are you back to you?" Bruce asked.

"Whatever do you mean, Robert, son of Banner?" The Gatekeeper asked, causing Bruce's jaw to drop.

"H-h-how do you know that name?" Bruce asked the Gatekeeper.

"I have had my watchful eye monitoring Thor's companions since he arrived in Midgard," the Gatekeeper explained.

"That's not creepy at all," Bruce muttered sarcastically. The man had spent the last several years of his life constantly and justifiably under the fear of being watched. He knew that there were over 100 government agencies that want him strapped down to a lab table. He was terrified that he may one day wake up being dissected in a lab for the rest of eternity, because let's face it: if a bullet to the brain won't kill him, he highly doubts anything else would do the trick.

 **Back on Earth**

"This isn't what I expected when I agreed to let you take her clothes shopping!" Mama Harpy flipped. "When you said you were taking her shopping, I thought you meant for a few shirts and jeans. I didn't think you'd buy her something that looked like it came out of Mortal Kombat!"

Steve and Bucky just looked completely puzzled as to what mortal combat is, let alone why I would buy this. Okay, I know Ren and I were in deadly battles with Grimm more often than we should have been, but Mama Harpy shouldn't be able to tell that. Maybe mighty warriors wore outfits like Ren's in this world. He was always a mighty warrior in my eyes.

"Look, I only bought her the one, and it was what her version of Bucky had worn before things went to hell," Natasha growled.

I hugged the replica of Ren's shirt. It was stupid. It is a piece of clothing. It isn't Ren. It isn't going to make me pancakes in the evening when I've had a bad day. It isn't going to smile at me when I boop its nose. It isn't Him, but it reminds me of him, of a time when we were happy. I pulled the picture out of my shirt and hand it to them. "His name was Ren, and he was my best friend. He endured the best and worst of me. He put up with my ramblings. We were by each other's sides when our village was destroyed and when my mom and his parents were killed in the attack. We survived the orphanage together and went to Beacon with the hope of preventing that tragedy from happening to anyone else. We were supposed to survive four years of school together and become huntsmen, but then the world crashed around our feet when the Battle for Beacon started in our freshman year and one of our own teammates died in the fray. Months later, we went on a mission to get justice for Pyrrha, but he died before the mission was over. Of the four huntsmen in training who embarked on that mission, I'm the only survivor." Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Okay, stop it. They are gone. You've probably thought about them more times since coming here than you should have. Mama Harpy and the others probably think you're a crybaby because you have broken down so many times since you got here.

Mama Harpy's jaw dropped when he saw the picture. "You're just kids! You were what? Sixteen when you got yourself enlisted in this mess? Who the _Hell_ decided you guys were old enough to go fight bad guys?" Mama Harpy looked ticked.

"Where I am from, we get accepted into a preliminary training schools at thirteen where you learn basic combat, how to conserve Aura, and forge your own weapons before graduating to the real schools at seventeen and graduating as a huntsman or huntress at twenty-one," I explain. Their faces look kind of funny. Natasha pulled out a phone to show me and the others a picture of the Nevermore I battled. It was about the size of a 15 story building, and one talon was about human size. Admittedly, it is a pretty big one, but still... I nod in confirmation that that is a Grimm.

If Mama Harpy looked upset before, he looked about ready to eviscerate someone and eat their liver now. Yuck! "So _someone_ thought it would be a good idea to turn _kids_ who should only be in middle school into weapons to fight _monsters_? Kids who aren't even old enough to drive, yet old enough to forge their own weapons and fight monsters like _that_? You'd barely be a _snack_ to that thing!" He says like he knows anything.

Puppy Man and Steve look angered at the very idea of it all. While Puppy Man is letting out a string of colorful words that could make even the most seasoned veterans blush, Steve had a grave face as he recounted some of his less than fond memories of World War II. "We've seen the Nazis do things you can't imagine in Germany during the war, but one of them was the child soldiers as young as 14 and 15 years old with their parents rifle who have been convinced by the poisoned words from Hitler's mouth to throw their lives away for the glory of the Third Reich." One thing neither of the present centenarians could stand was how an entire generation of children were brainwashed into following this mad man to the point where they would give their lives for Hitler's Germany. It may not be Hitler's most reviled practice, but it was horrifying all the same. They had hoped to never see kids that age in a war again, but to find out about a world where it was the unquestioned norm for children to start training that young, even if against monsters rather than armies, it left a bad taste in their mouths.

I stare at Steve. "You don't quite get it. I was going to be in this fight no matter if I was trained or not. The Grimm were a constant threat to my village and any village outside of the kingdoms. You learn to defend yourself, or you and your family dies! We have to learn how to protect ourselves practically as soon as we can walk! I had to pick up my mother's weapon when I was six years old and fend for myself long enough for a neighbor to rescue me!" I know he's speaking on his experience as someone who grew up in the equivalent of one of the kingdoms. You sign up whether as a Huntsman or a soldier in service of a kingdom you believe in. You don't go to bed worried about if tonight is the night you are made into a snack. Yes, I wish I didn't have to make this choice so young, but that was not a choice I could afford to make given the situation and world I was born into. "I'm sorry," I whispered before running out of the door.

Making sure not to let go of the Ren outfit, I bolt out of the building with tears in my eyes. I don't belong here! I don't belong anywhere anymore! I have no family. My home is six feet under. These people will eventually abandon me because of my _many_ issues. I have no money and no way to make a living. I'll be homeless _again,_ and have no mission to keep me going. Face it, Nora! You are an anchor, and you will drag everyone down! I need to get out of here! I dash down the streets of Hell's Kitchen. I'll find a way to live here without needing to freeload off of these people.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry about the wait. Between school starting back up and me becoming absorbed into watching and reading through Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge, I my mind has been everywhere but my fanfics. Warning: may be spoilers of some sort in here somewhere. I am not a Marvel fangirl, and am basing this _loosely_ on the events that transpired within the myth where Hel, Jormangandr, Sleipnir, and Fenrir are the children of Loki.

In Asgard

At long last, Thor entered the golden throne room of his father to see a white-haired man with a golden eye patch. The years, though kinder to him than humans, had aged him enough to show him to be older than most Asgardians, but not old enough to be placed in an Asgardian retirement home. The man wore heavy plated black and gold armor and held in his right hand a spear. This was the All-Father Odin, his father, his king. "My son," He greeted. His voice conveyed his authority as well as his diplomatic nature.

"Father," Thor greeted. "I have been given a vision that tells of Asgard in great peril," The man in the red cape began. Everyday since the vision, he had woken up from these horrific dreams of Asgard aflame and various Asgardians blaming him, ranging from Heimdall to those three children who nearly had their ball stolen by lady Jane.

Odin's posture became stiff for a moment before he puffed out his chest. Strange. "WHO WOULD DARE THREATEN ASGARD WHILE I RULE?!" His voice was filled with anger, though to be fair, whose wouldn't be? It was a good thing his companion, Bruce Banner remains in the courtyard so that Thor may have a private audience with his father. Odin has just learned of another threat to his kingdom when the last threat had cost him dearly; it had taken from him the life of his beloved Frigga about four Midgardian years ago. He was still in mourning for Frigga; four years is barely enough time to a Midgardian, let alone to an Asgardian for whom a human lifespan is barely a blink of the eye.

Thor took a step back, but he trusted his father never to harm him. Over the years, Odin had proven himself to be a loving father who would never harm his sons. Give them an internalized racism that eventually turns attempted genocide, sure. Leaving his heir abandoned in an unfamiliar environment with no means of providing for or protecting himself, okay. Imprisoning his son until the end of his days, okie-dokie. However, he had never laid a hand on either of his children, and that was more than many had. "I remember there was a woman clothed with a hooded garment, and Heimdall gave me a warning. He said that we were being led to Hell," Thor explained. He knew it wasn't much to go on, but it was what he had seen.

Odin looked absolutely haunted at this news. "C-can you say with 100% certainty that those were his words? Can you say with 100% certainty he said 'Hel?'" Guilt wrenched his face, and Thor had never seen anything like this from his father. What is the significance of that one word to his father?

Thor nodded solemnly. "Aye. I am certain."

Odin's face was grim as he looked to each side of the room to make sure no one other than he and Thor were present. "It has been said that the children of Loki will bring about Ragnarok, the end of Asgard. Precautions were taken to ensure that not one child had opportunity to be a threat to Asgard." He explained with guilt warping his voice. "It nearly drove your brother to madness before we had those memories locked deep inside his head. Hel was the name of his infant daughter who was sent to Helheim."

Thor grew angry and sickened at this news. He may have more respect for the All-father than any other being in all of Yggdrasil, but this was the work of a monster! Then, he remembered the message that had come from Heimdall's mouth. "You have brought down their vengeance upon us all!" He shouted, remembering several myths he had heard during his time in Midgard about men who went to great lengths to stop a prophesy. "Fate does not like to be trifled with," he growled. How is it that the short-lived Midgardians had more wisdom than the All-Father who has lived thousands of years longer than any of them?

With tears in his eye, Odin shouted, "at the time, it was our best option." He genuinely looked remorseful for the fates of the sons of Loki, but Thor was too enraged at this to care. He stormed out of the throne room in a manner befitting of the Norse god of thunder.

On Earth

Where am I? This doesn't look like New York?After running for half of what seems like forever, I kinda maybe definitely crashed into another person. The man looked old enough to be my grandfather with his grey hair and beard. He wore a makeshift eye-patch made from beige cloth over his right eye, leaving only the left blue eye visible. He wore a worn charcoal grey sweater covered by a blue raincoat with red sleeves that had probably been bought from Goodwill. Covering his hands were beige fingerless gloves. He looked as though he had seen dark days in how haunted his face looked. "I'm sorry," I apologize while trying to keep the anxiety out of my voice.

"Be at peace, child. 'Twas an accident," the man excused kindly as he looked at me with his one eye. He appears to be shocked and his eyes lit with recognition for one moment before it gave way to confusion. "Child, may I ask your name? I feel as though I have seen you before!" he pleaded with desperation peppering his voice.

I'm confused. I have never met this man before, but the desperation on his face looks so genuine, I can't help it, "my name is Nora Valkyrie, but I think you have me confused for someone else. I'm not from here, and I don't belong here. It's a totally long story involving fighting Grimm and portals, but I'm not supposed to be here, so you can't possibly know me. I want to go home, but I can't go home. The best I can hope for is to be a leach off of someone else, but I can't do that to someone. I just don't know what to do or where to go," I responded in a long rant as a grey cloud hangs over my head.

The older man looked into my eyes. "Nora Valkyrie, I believe that the Norns have sent you here for a specific purpose. I may not know what in Yggdrasil that purpose is or even who I am, but I believe we were meant to meet." He spoke these words like a figure in a story my mom used to tell me as a child. He even used the words "Norns" and "Yggdrasil." If I didn't know better than to believe in fairy tales, I would believe that the man was from Asgard itself. However, that is impossible. Asgard is a bedtime story my mom made up. "Come, child! I shall take you some place where you shall be safe," he beckoned.

I really did not have anywhere to go, so I decided to follow him. I gripped Magnhild just in case this goes south. I don't mean south as in the direction; we are heading east. I mean _south_ as in wrong and something bad happens. Whoever came up with that expression anyway? Why not west? Or northeast? Anyway, I followed him to a crowded subway tunnel. Seriously, there were way too many people here. There were all different walks of life. There were men with ragged clothes and rough skin and there were men who looked like plastic dolls in suits. Admittedly a few of the latter got reaaaaally uncomfortable when the former got too close. That really upset my soul, and I could feel my arms itching to punch the suited men in their perfect teeth. He encouraged me to jump over the dilapidated turnstile.

* * *

Bucky ran through the labyrinth of New York's streets. "NORA!" He called into the darkness. It had been hours since the girl had fled. This girl had seen pain and suffering, but she was still new to New York, hell, she was new to Earth. There were more than likely threats that she wouldn't recognize as such. Despite all of Steve's pleading, he still felt guilty for his actions and the lives he took as the Winter Soldier. Brainwashed or not, he still felt responsible and guilty for what his hands did. He felt guilt for Maria and Howard Stark. He felt guilt for all of his victims, both the people he killed and the orphans he made. The others on his team kept insisting it was not his fault and kept looking at him with this look of pity. It drove him nuts because he did not think he deserved it. However, Nora saw him not as Bucky the tortured soul nor the Winter Soldier the weapon. She saw "Puppy Man" the friend.

"NORA!" he again called out into the streets. He felt a lot of guilt and like there was a lot he needed to make up for. He refused to add Nora to that list because he was going to find her and help her build a life here where she did not have to be a warrior if she did not wish to. She may feel as if what she went through is acceptable, but no one should have to go through the pain of losing everyone and everything around her. He at least had the knowledge that Steve was alive and well once the fog of his conditioning lifted just the slightest bit. She lost everyone around her, if not to the tragedies of her past, than to the events that led her to be stranded on Earth. He needed to help her. He felt it could him atone for at least the smallest amount of what he did.

Suddenly, a man in a gaudy red and gold suit of armor descended in front of him. "Really, Frosty? Nat calls in a favor to help you guys, and out of all of your playmates running around this city, I run into you?" There is a struggle in his voice, like he is fighting off a rash decision. "How is it that two super soldiers, a man with a nifty set of metal wings, and a master assassin lost a teenage girl?" he sighed in a tone that is meant to sound taunting, but instead sounded tired.

Bucky prepared himself to defend against an attack. Whether or not Tony was working with Team Cap, there was still December 16th, 1991.

"Whoa, there, Buckeroo! Look, I had a long talk with Bruce. While things may not be hunky-dory between you and me, he made me see that perhaps my actions were a little rash. I think we can have a ceasefire long enough to find and help this girl," Tony tried his best to diffuse the situation. Tony's mind was still haunted by Bruce's description of the guilt and psychological torture he went through every time the Hulk smashed a city block. 'I got low. I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth, and the other guy spit it out.' Images of his Science Bro's grave haunt his nightmares.

Bucky gave him the you've-gotta-be-kidding-me look, "Tony, you tried to kill me and Steve and sentenced the rest of out team, _your friends,_ to an isolated raft prison. I don't think 'a little rash' quite covers it." He sighed before trying to walk away.

Tony let Bucky walk ten feet before placing his armored arm on Bucky's flesh shoulder. "Come on, Snowflake. I only did that one time," he pouted. This is his best friend's life, not a cup of juice that was spilled on the carpet!

Bucky glared, "once is enough, Tony! Besides, I don't want your puppet masters anywhere near that girl!" He growled, remembering the crap he went through in the name of HYDRA. He really could not trust that all of the world governments with a leash on Tony were squeaky clean, even if Tony has a reputation for peeing on the carpet. Last thing he wanted was someone trying to make Nora into a "perfect soldier" when she already has enough emotional scars. Or locking her away. Or experimenting on her.

"I know you senior citizens need glasses, but this is the world government, not HYDRA!" Tony retorted.

"And apparently the events within SHIELD taught you nothing. I'm _sorry,_ but I have a friend to find," dismissed Bucky before he found a way onto the nearest fire escape and climbed, leaving an annoyed Tony behind.


	7. Where's Waldo?

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, The Avengers, "Leaves from the Vine," or Where's Waldo.

 **Chapter 7**

 **3 years ago**

Snow covered the ground like a blanket meant to tuck in those who were lain to rest in the cemetery, it almost looked peaceful. Only a few stones sticking out of the ground and four sets of footprints ruined this perfect blanket of purity and tranquility. The sky was grey, and it looked as though the sun had abandoned them. Snow, like ash, gently fell to the earth. Something about this scene broke the four teens further. The dead lay in peace, unable to feel the pain their absence caused or see the state of disarray the world had fallen to. All that was left was a slate grey stone with the words "Pyrrha Nikos: Champion, Huntress, & Friend."

As we stood there with Pyrrha for the last time before we embarked on our mission to Mistral, Ren began to sing a song his mother would sing to him as a child that had been passed down through several generations,

 _"Leaves from the vine,_

 _Falling so slow,_

 _Like fragile, tiny shells,_

 _Drifting in the foam,_

 _Little soldier boy,_

 _Come marching home,_

 _Brave soldier boy_

 _comes marching home."_

Tears filled my eyes as I thought of how Pyrrha would never go home. She would never be able to spar with me again, or go dress shopping with me when she finally asks Jaune out. She would never walk the stage during our graduation ceremony. She never got to be the amazing mom I know she would be or asked me to babysit her kids. She could have lived this long, amazing life, but it was cut too short too soon. Ruby squeezed my hand tight, tears also filling her silver eyes.

 _"Those leaves did grow_

 _From branches overgrown,_

 _Drifting slowly down,_

 _Resting on the loam._

 _Little soldier boy_

 _Taken from home_

 _Forced to fight a war_

 _That's not his own."_

Our parents never wanted us to be pulled into this madness. They had wanted us to learn to defend ourselves, but they had been hoping we would be able to emigrate to one of the kingdoms. Ren's parents and my mother had put a little bit of money aside to buy a small home together in Vale. Even if it was cramped for all of us to potentially live together, it would be safe. Mom wanted to get a job as a custom weapons smith, and Ren's parents wanted to open their own small business. Neither of us would have to fight if we did not want to, and they honestly would have strongly discouraged it if we did want to. Mr. and Mrs. Ren were always so kind to me, and never once did they make a remark about my legitimacy. They would always send mom any extra vegetables from the garden to make sure that even when money was tight, mom and I never starved. With tears in my eyes, I sang along the last verse with Ren.

 _"Leaves from the vine,_

 _Falling so slow,_

 _Like fragile, tiny shells,_

 _Drifting in the foam._

 _Little soldier boy says,_

 _'Carry me home.'_

 _Sleeping Soldier boy_

 _Is carried home."_

* * *

The man with the eye patch ushers me onto a subway car. The small, metal car has a vermilion floor and saffron yellow benches. The metal poles have managed to avoid rusting over the years. The car was significantly warmer than the outside of the station had been. Sitting within the car are 23 poor souls with white lips and wind-burnt skin in either worn out clothing, or camouflage fatigues. Their faces looked like those who had seen hardship, even in their sleep, Some were either shifting erratically or holding tight to the person next to them. Some of their faces were smudged with dirt and oil. There were as many as three people sharing a threadbare blanket.

A fairly young one with a weird patch of orange on his arm awoken and noticed my stare. "What? Never seen a plasma donor before? I'm not a junkie if that's what you're thinkin'!" He glared. "They rub that iodine on your skin so its clean when they stick ya. It's a way of feedin' myself. Ya either donate, deal, sell yourself, steal, beg, perform, or starve here. There's nothin' else! The fat cats took everythin'! Welcome to Detroit, Michigan, by the way."

I look at him in sympathy. I had seen a lot of places in Remnant where the people would go to similar means to survive after war broke out. Heck, sometimes there are weeks between freelance missions, and I am living off of what I can find in the nearby forests (Thank you, Professor Peach for those lessons on what's edible and what's not!). Not everyone had that, especially not wherever here is since it almost looks like trees and grass barely exist above ground here. Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted when everybody started gathering around the entrance to the car as a mocha-colored man with shoulder-length obsidian hair and nice teeth came with a plastic bag full of chicken. "We're in luck, guys! Shop Rite was tossin' out a little more chicken than usual!"

"Good harvest, friend Aladdin!" Grampa Eye Patch cheers.

Aladdin, not a day older than 23, rolls his eyes. "Call me 'Al,' gramps. Not 'Aladdin,' just 'Al.'" His eyes then fall upon myself. "She's feeding herself!" He quickly asserts and points a finger at me. What is with all of the pointing? Do I have something on my face?

I roll my eyes. "I wasn't planning on relying on you for food, anyway," I retort. I had a box of those 's'mores pop-tarts' this morning. They actually taste better than the strawberry ones! Not quite as good as pancakes, but nothing could compete with those! Besides, I could live without a meal for one night. It's not like I had three hot meals at home after the started.

The people around the train car each grabbed small portions of the fried chicken and began to eat, not letting one piece of it go to waste. I merely just there among them as I watched Just Al and another girl of about four years who looked very similar to him with pigtails and wearing clothes for someone two times her size, possibly his daughter, struggle to keep warm under a comforter. "What are you looking at?" he glared as he wrapped his arms protectively around her. "As bad as it is, the best place she can be is with me! I'd rather have her here, in my arms, than chance her being placed by foster care into the hands of some monster who thinks that all Pakistani are radicalized ISIS recruits! Even this frozen nightmare is better than anywhere south of here. I lost my beloved Safiyyah to your country's racism because she wore a Hijab to go get baby formula in Atlanta. I will not lose Nadra too!" He insisted.

I give him a look of sympathy and looked at the little girl. I know the hell of being in a poor and dangerous situation with only one parent to depend on, but my mom would find ways to make it better by telling me stories of the golden city of Asgard and of how the mighty warriors fended off the Jotuns and those from other lands. I used to pretend that they would come to my village and protect us from the Grimm. "Once upon a time in the land of Asgard..."

* * *

Every screen in Stark Tower was currently occupied running CCTV on every security camera in the city. A lot of it was filled with traffic of both cars and feet as there was a large of a population of humans, vigilantes, enhanced, and individuals that happened to be combinations of the three living within the city. It was a challenge to find a girl who shouldn't even exist among the masses. Luckily, Tony adored challenges like a kid on Christmas. "Hey, Nat! Is this your ginger?"

The scarlet-haired assassin stared at the indicated screen to see a short ginger girl running at speeds that could surpass a super soldier down the crowded streets of the city.

"We kind of lost track of her at the tunnel. I don't think she's in New York any more," Tony explained as he watched the young woman run out of range of the cameras. "FRIDAY, activate 'Waldo Protocol.'"

Natasha quirked an eyebrow at the screen as if to say, 'really?' at his reference to a popular children's game, though it was Tony, so childishness is to be expected. Not only does he talk to strangers, he goads them into launching an assault on his own home. He decides that the best way to fight a murder-bot hell-bent on human extinction is by creating another bot like Patrick Star trying to combat a giant, paint bubble with another giant paint bubble. Apparently, I have been spending too much time with Clint's kids... He keeps trying to poke The Hulk to get a big, green reaction! His IQ may be high, but his maturity is that of a four-year-old in a room full of flashing, red buttons. "Please tell me FRIDAY is at least better at 'Where's Waldo?' than Cooper."

Tony looked absolutely befuddled, "Cooper?"

"Clint's son, the one you said was a 'smaller agent'? " She reminded him. Though, to be fair, he didn't spend much time with the kids before he and Steve got roped into housework. "He inherited his mother's eyes and couldn't find Waldo if the boy had a neon sign pointing to him," she smiled as she remembered the child's quest to find the boy in the red and white striped shirt and matching hat.

"The girl was last seen on a traffic camera in Detroit, Michigan. Also, yes, Miss Romanoff. I am very adept at playing 'where is Waldo?'."

Tony just stared at the screen. "Are you sure that's the right ginger? Detroit is over 600 miles from here, and you are telling me that this girl ran there in less than a day?"

"Affirmative. Detroit is approximately 622 miles from here, and it appears that the 'ginger' is capable of running 741.8 miles per hour, rivaling the sound of thunder," the system responded.

Tony blinked twice. "Call Capcicle and the abominable snowman. Tell them I'll help find her, but if she resists, I'll have no choice but to bring her in."

* * *

 **In Asgard**

It had been nearly two days since Thor had delivered the news to him, and Loki was in anguish. No matter their forms, no matter the prophesies, they were his children. If he could, he would give up this stolen throne for their freedom, he even tried bargaining with the All-Father when the children were taken from him, but sadly, that is a worthless bargain if Odin had no plans to ever let him near the throne. Not for the first time, he cursed his fathers- both biological and adoptive.

Suddenly, the roosters crowed and a great commotion was heard outside of his halls. He had the doors opened to show several Asgardians carrying in a dying Baldur. "My king," the man rasped as Loki's face paled. "They're here."

Loki looked sick and did his best to keep composure as three simple words escaped his lips in a hoarse whisper, "Ragnarok has begun."


	8. Chapter 8

For those of you wondering about why Odin is in Detroit in this fic instead of New York, it is just a small nod to The Incredible Hulk (1996) episode 9: Mortal Bounds. It is not my favorite episode of the series, but if you were a 90s kid in America, you grew up with these type of cartoons. The premise of the series was Bruce was on the run from Ross and would often encounter other Marvel heroes who would assist him.

As far as continuity goes, I will incorporate little bits of the more recent volume and movies, but nothing to give away the plot. An example would be that maybe I incorporate items, knowledge, or characters that are brought in recently, but I won't give you any major spoilers for Ozpin, the locations of any infinity stones that haven't been revealed before the start of Phase 3, or that the sky is blue and Penny is a robot. I'll be taking pieces of what I can and do it my way, meaning yes, Odin may be on earth, but I put him in a different city. Yes, Ragnarok is coming, but I am doing a modified version based closer to the myths than the comics. Yes, Civil War happened, but Bucky has his metal arm still. Nora may get a few upgrades she does not have in the series.

 **Elsewhere on** **Midgard**

A pale man with a brown braided ponytail, orange eyes, and a seriously unhinged expression peered around. He saw thousands of strangers that looked happy and _not_ terrified. This can't be right! Vale fell! Mistral fell! Vacuo fell! Menagerie is basically a tent city. Atlas is barely supporting its refugees, and many of the other villages are living in terror. In front of him was a giant Ferris wheel with an anthropomorphic mouse on it. Okay, where in all of Remnant is he that is this accepting of Faunus? 'Cause this sure as hell ain't Atlas. He'll take this place down later. He has to find that last bra- you know what? Let's make the rides here a little more thrilling. A razor sharp grin appeared on his face.

 **Detroit**

Nora continued telling stories that her mother told her to the small child. Just as Nora was getting to the part that the competitor in the eating contest was the personification of fire, both she and Eyepatch Grampa jolted upwards as the sound of many roosters crowing overtook the air. Both knew this as a bad omen and were aware that something horrifying was coming. Within moments of this, the earth began to shake for a minute or so, tipping the retired car onto its side. "Jormangandr," Nora whispered. "But he is just a myth that is believed to live on Midgard!"

Those with some form of training (Nora, Odin, the veterans) pulled themselves off of the ground and tried to assist the others. Quickly, they pulled any injured into their arms, including little Nadra into Nora's arms before being handed off to her father. "We gotta get out of here," a soldier cried. "If the earth shakes again, there's a high chance we'll be buried.

Nora supposed that this is where her experience with eliminating Death Stalker nests within the caves of Sanus (continent where Vale is located, see RWBY Volume 4, World of Remnant: Vale). She knew how to tell if a cave-in was coming and would be able to get the people to safety more effectively.

Eyepatch Grampa quickly broke off a piece of pipe and looked ready for battle, his face became like a storm, ominous and grim. Nora grabbed Magnhild as she did the same. Her eyes seemed to spark with electricity. The other people within the cart stared at the two in shock. These two looked as if they could be members of the Avengers. Heck, the way Nora was versed in Norse mythology may indicate her to be Asgardian. The watched in awe and hoped that perhaps they would be able to talk on the behalf of the homeless and destitute should they get the opportunity. It was desperate and unlikely, but it was a thought worth entertaining if they could be acknowledged by the public enough to promote change.

 **With Tony**

Tony watched as the earth began to vibrate below. A building began to tilt before toppling over whole like a rectangular box that had just fallen over. It was still in one piece, Tony did his best to clear civilians out of the way before it crash landed and crushed those in it's path. Stabilizing the building was not the needed option. He needed to save civilians and unearth those who are buried under the rubble of other building collapses. "This is Stark to the United knuckle draggers who think they are my boss, while I wait a week for you to reach a decision and deal with all the red tape, I'm going to elect to ignore it and unearth Detroit."

"Avengers Assemble!" Tony ordered over the microphone to his team.

Minutes passed before a response was given. "Umm... Mr. Stark- I mean Ironman- I mea-"Spiderman began to ramble nervously.

Tony rolled his eyes as he found himself on what used to be a high-rise but is now a mountain of rubble. "Itsy-Bitsy, we don't have time for this. Just spit it out!"

Flustered by Tony's newest nickname, Spiderman blurted, "New York was hit too. We're working with a few members of Captain Rogers' team as well as a few local vigilantes to deal with things here. Check the SHIELD Database for locals who may be able to help, or I think there is a science symposium tomorrow that may have gathered a few people willing to help."

Tony nodded. "Thanks, Arachne. Just focus on manning the clean up crew there."

 **With Nora**

Whoever designed these tunnels was not horrible. It was a ten minute trek before a "STOP!" was cried by Nora. Seconds later, metal beams and several tons of debris fell, causing a wall ten feet ahead. "Step back," Nora ordered. the people took a few steps back. "Further back than that," she insisted.

After Nora managed to get them about 100 feet back, she took three steps back herself before launching a grenade or three from Magnhild. As some of the bigger debris flew from the explosion, she infused her aura into Magnhild and twirled it fast enough to make a giant shield of pink sparks that either obliterated any debris or turned what did make it past to dust. She panted a few times, needing a moment to catch her breath from something of that magnitude. She looked behind herself to see all of the civilians alive. and uninjured.

She then saw that the wall of debris was much thinner and broke through what was left with one overpowering hit. "Come on, slowpokes!" she beckoned as the walked past the rubble. The hit may have been nothing, but the spinny shield move she named Svalinn took more energy when extended on the scale she needed it to be in that moment. It shouldn't be that much further to the surface.

 **Asgard**

The court soon erupted into a ballroom blitz. Everywhere there was an clash of swords and shields and spears and other assorted weapons as the Asgardians battled an army of fallen warriors Hela had brought with her. Thor himself was battling his niece. Despite Mjolnir's might, it seemed for naught. She had landed a cut on his cheek, two shallow wounds on his chest, and a slightly deeper wound into his side, yet he barely seemed unable to inflict even the simplest of wounds upon the woman. The woman shook her head at his feeble attempts to do harm. "You think Mjolnir can harm me? Compared to where I was cast off, she is but a simple feather, _Odinson_."

Thor's eyes tracked behind him to his father's movement's only to see movement's of a man who is not accustomed to fighting with a spear, but movements closer to those of a wielder of magic and trickery... It cannot be! Thor had seen him die with his own eyes! With four words, Hela pulled the rug from beneath him. "Father, remove your guise!" Hela ordered.


	9. Chapter 9

**Detroit**

After nearly an hour, Nora guided the collection of Detroit's homeless out of the tunnel. Outside of the subway, the city was not faring much better. Every which way, there was a building about to topple and people with an assortment of abilities truing to save civilians. There was a giant man and a giantess with wings and a black and yellow striped dress on one street and a man who could stretch himself like taffy on another. A blonde woman was projecting a purple force field to save a mother and child a block over. Heck, even a reptillian-like man was trying to save people from underneath the rubble. Nora personally escorted the group as well as a few other rescues using Magnhild to destroy as much debris as possible.

Up in the sky, Nora saw a man in a gaudy red and gold tin can suit. The color scheme brought a stray tear or two to her eyes as she thought of red hair and bronze armor... No, she's gone. Her friends are gone. Her home is six feet under, and there is no going back. However, this does not mean she has to let anyone else lose their friend. "Eyepatch Grampa, get these people to safety," The ginger-haired girl instructed before going to assist in protecting civilians.

Using her speed and strength, Nora leaped into action, literally. She pushed a toppled building out of the way of a group of civilians just before the shaking stopped. She peered around looking at the destruction around her before she started looking for people under the debris. A big, loud, red truck with a ladder carrying people wearing funny, orange helmets and black shirts that say "DVFD"(Detroit Volunteer Fire Department) come to look for survivors. After asking me if I had seen any survivors, they tried to move me into the truck, claiming that they need to get me to safety. Silly people, I have things to do, like fight Jormangandr.

I then decided to move as quickly as possible to a pier back in New York City. Crap. I don't know where his head is, and I need some kind of transport that would get me there before he decides to shake things up again. I don't have time to row a boat...

 **Meanwhile in Asgard**

Suddenly, Odin was gone and in his place was Loki, looking less like himself than he had in times past. Thor's face filled with shock, joy, and anger. He was in Shock that Loki was alive, joy that his brother was alive, and anger that his brother had betrayed him again. Loki rolled his eyes. "Brother, before you go into your testosterone fueled posturing and outrage, save it for when Asgard is safe. Your father is unharmed. He is needed elsewhere, and I will tell you where he is later!"

Really, this isn't the time for their pissing contest, and if the prophesies were to be believed, Midgard needed a strong Asgardian now anyway. Who better than a member of the Asgardian royal family... Plus, he can always use this situation to extort favors out of Midgard and his brother later. Plus, despite everything, Odin wouldn't kill Jormangandr, the son of his adoptive son. Capture him, maybe. However, he is sentimental enough not to kill the son of his adoptive son. Loki may not be able to completely change fate, but he can alter it slightly enough to give his son the best chance at survival. Now if only he could have found his other children. "Banner, Thor and I will handle Hela. I need you to find and defeat Fenris, but do not kill him. If this battle results in my children's lives being spared, I will gladly allow Either Asgard or idgard to chain me once more."

This threw Bruce for a loop. How is it that Loki, who had no qualms killing 80 people in two days, who attempted fratricide as well as patricide of his biological father at least, seemed to care more in this instant for his son and daughter than Bruce's father had cared for Bruce in his entire life? Bruce nodded before transforming into the Hulk and exitted the throne room.

 **In Midgard**

"Sir, it appears that the target has left the city. She appears to have arrived at a pier in Queens, New York," FRIDAY informed Tony. Tony rolled his eyes.

Great, just what Tony needed: an enhanced individual who can't sit still. His own Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is bad enough. He doesn't need a ADHD enhanced being playing Road Runner in the midst of a nationwide disaster. Tony may be a super genius, but he isn't going to be the Wile E. Coyote in this situation and fail repeatedly. "Hey Capsicle, Jack Frost, I found her. She's in Queens at the pier."


	10. Chapter 10

Another chapter up. I don't own Marvel, RWBY, or any pop culture references or memes that are included in this work.

 **Chapter 10**

Nora was about to leave the pier to look for someone who can get her a boat when a familiar metal-armed man appeared out of nowhere. "Puppy Man!" Nora exclaimed before remembering her original objective. "Puppy Man, I need a favor."

Bucky rolled his eyes and embraced the girl awkwardly. The girl had grown on him like ivy wrapped around a tree. "What do you need?" he asked. Whatever it is, he'll put it on his "to do" list. Where depended on how possible or impossible the request happened to be.

Nora's gaze scanned the ocean. "I need to find Jormangandr, preferably his head. He's a big snake capable of wrapping around your world, you can't miss him. He should be somewhere out there," she gestured to the sea, "and I need a really fast boat so I can get to him before he tries to break the world again," Nora requested like she was asking for extra pickles on a hamburger.

Bucky shook his head. It wasn't that he didn't believe her. You could tell him that there was an intelligent, alien raccoon with a bomb fetish and a walking tree at the front door, and Bucky would start setting traps around the base. You could tell him there is an emoji-octopus hybrid capable of destroying the world, and he wouldn't bat an eye. You could tell him the sky is purple and made of hedgehogs, and it would not surprise him. Nothing surprises him anymore. Only problem was that no one would trust him or his teammates with a boat after the bomb that he was framed for despite the fact that they still let Tony near a screwdriver after he built a murder-bot. However, if she was right, there was a bigger problem than imprisonment due to political BS afloat.

Finding the right frequency on his com, "Natasha, I'm going to need you to borrow something from Tony."

* * *

Thor dodged another attack from his niece. He and his father were definitely going to have a talk after this about the stupidity of what had occurred. The Midgardians with their short lifespans had figured out ages ago that preventing a prophesy doesn't work, and the king of Asgard decided nothing would go wrong with trapping his own granddaughter in Helheim. There is no possible reason this would backfire and cause her to want revenge... Odin and Loki thought the Midgardians were the fools. Seriously, this was the second foolhardiest thing Thor had ever seen, next to son of Stark's idea to meddle with forces that few in the universe would even pretend to comprehend.

Loki was struck by a beam of energy, causing him to gain a few grey hairs. "Time comes for us all, Father. Today, it will come for all of Asgard," she jeered.

Loki shook his head. "Is there a clichéd screenplay writer feeding you your dialogue, dearest Hela?"

Hela walked towards him, her black cloak making her appear as if the spectre of death. Thor charged at her, Mjolnir in hand. "I'm clichéd?" She asked sidestepping enough that Thor missed her and collided with a wall. "You are the father who abandoned his own children! Odin is the king who let a few ramblings poison him enough to destroy what could have been his own happy family! And look at Thor!" she screeched while pointing at Thor, who was pulling his head out of a crater in the wall.

"Point taken," Loki conceded before being hit with a ball of energy, only to be revealed to be an illusion.

* * *

"Mind telling me why favors called in are never as simple as 'watch my dog for a day or two'?" Natasha asked as she piloted one of Tony's jets north to an area just south of Scandinavia where reports of a sea monster were being called in.

Bucky chuckled, "Because that would be too easy. Plus asking a former assassin to keep a dog alive for a few days is never a good idea."

Nora jumped up and stood between the two Russian assassins. "Don't you _dare_ hurt my Puppy Man! He's never hurt you!" Nora asserted fiercely.

Natasha smirked as she recalled Bucky's guard dog-like protectiveness of the girl. "I won't hurt your Puppy Man as long as you keep him from chewing up things he's not supposed to. I'm rather attached to my stilettos and sunglasses."

Bucky sighed, "we're flying at Mach 6 speed to fight a monster that shouldn't even exist in the North Sea with a young lady from another world. I think your stilettos have bigger worries." Like how they are going to prevent the end of the world when they are short one Norse god of thund- "Great! There's a storm system up ahead!"

Nora found the hatch that opened to the roof of the jet; it really wasn't that much different from a small airship. "I'll take care of it," Nora announced with a terrifying grin on her face.


	11. Chapter 11

I know I said that Thor and Bruce would return by chapter 11 or 12, but that estimate is slightly off. It will be very soon, but not that soon.

 **Chapter 11**

A moment later, Nora used the com system. "Just keep going. I'll take care of the lightning, and your autopilot thingy should make sure we get to the right place!" Nora shouted excitedly. For a battle like this, she could use a power-up. Powerful as she may be, there are limits to her strength. Besides, it has been a while since she had the power of a storm rather than a single bolt tingling beneath her skin, and the one ahead looked like a great and mighty one. She does not need to be strong enough to be a goddess. She just needs to be strong enough to protect.

 **Meanwhile in Detroit**

Tony sighed. This really was not his day. First, he had to chase a girl all the way to Detroit. Then, he had to deal with an earthquake big enough to affect all of North America. Then the girl gives him the slip, and now she, Bucky, and Natasha have borrowed his new birdie. Oh well, he has bigger fish to fry right now, specifically help digging people out of the rubble. He'll make those three suffer for any damage inflicted on his baby later.

"Mortal! I require your assistance!" A voice from behind Tony commanded. Tony turned around to face an eyepatched man in rags.

Patience, Tony, patience! You know, that thing you have so very little of? "Yeah, we mortals don't appreciate being called such. It's an- is it an ethnofalism if it applies to all of humanity? Either way, it's kind of a no-no."

The man with the eye patch was not amused. "Where is Nora Valkyrie?!" He ordered in an unpleasant manner that made Tony feel sorry for whomever put up with this crazy on a dai- wait! Refers to people as "mortal," an interest in the potentially Asgardian girl, and an eye patch... Why does this ring a bell?

You've gotta be kidding me. "Don't you have an alien kingdom to rule, or a Spongebob episode to watch, Patchy?" Tony glared. "Or I don't know, keeping your kids under control?" He then used the Ironman suit to move a rather large piece of rubble to reveal a civilian with a fractured leg underneath. Tony then securely grabbed the man and took off to the hospital. After handing the civilian to a member of the hospital staff, Tony was extremely annoyed to Odin appear in a swirling cyclone of ravens.

"Mortal, my friends tell me you know where Nora Valkyrie is. Tell ME!" The king of Asgard demanded as his birds squawked menacingly... It was adorable how seriously he wanted to be taken right now. Also, a king covered in rags while calling a bunch of glorified pigeons his "friends"? What happened to Tony's life that this is what it has come to?

Tony sighed. He is going to need a drink tonight. "Okay, since you're clearly not mortal, you can wait a few millenia and ask again. You clearly have time."

Irritation was evident on the pirate wannabe's face. "Okay, will you please tell me where Nora Valkyrie is? It would be appreciated."

Tony sighed. "She is on a jet going to the North Sea to fight a giant serpent because, if my Wikipedia search is right, you decided to do something stupid after Loki couldn't keep it in his pants." Not that he should talk about not being able to keep it in his pants, but he's pretty sure none of his past affairs have resulted in the potential destruction of the earth.

Odin glared, "I did what was best for Asgard." Then with a wave of his hand and a flurry of raven feathers, he was gone.


	12. Chapter 12

AN: For those of you who have not seen Thor: Ragnarok, there are very few if any spoilers in this. Sorry I took so long. I meant to update this forever ago, but work, school, my notoriously short attention span, and my ADD-riddled mind got in the way.

Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. It clashes with my Kevlar Batsuit.

 **MIDGARD**

The air around her crackled with life, and, for the first time in a long time, the pain she had spent years pretending and failing to ignore had ebbed away. She does not know why, but there was always something... welcoming about a storm beneath her skin. She absorbed 9 strikes of lightning; she wished she could get ten, but 9 was a great number. There were 9 worlds connected to Yggdrasil, 9 nights Hemrod rode Sleipnir to save Baldr, and according to the story, Thor took 9 steps back before Jormangandr's venom killed him... She knows that she may die here, but her friends are waiting for her on the other side. She just has to make sure that her friends from this world don't join her.

She stepped int the cabin to address her living friends one more time. "Guys, whatever happens here, it was an honor to fight alongside you. There's a moment we make a decision not to cower and crash to the ground. The moment we face our worst demons, Our courage found. When we stand with friends And we won't retreat As we stare down death Then the taste is sweet... like pancakes with extra syrup!" she quickly added when the mood felt too somber.

Natasha shook her head. She should have known Nora doesn't do serious well. "Well, we have a 2 of the best former Russian assassins and an alien warrior princess who could outdo Captain America without breaking a sweat. We have a better chance than most, especially those who need the government's permission to go potty... Bruce chose one hell of a time to go on vacation."

* * *

 _How did I go from actively avoiding potential global catastrophes to getting in the middle of a prophesied Armageddon and Asgardian family reunion? Next time Thor's family has a get together, remind me to plan a fishing trip._ Bruce thought as he pushed away Fenrir. Hulk was starting to muscle his psyche out of the picture and become more savage, not that he'd normally mind, but Loki had pleaded him to spare his children with more love in that one moment than his own father ever had for him in his entire life. Luckily The Hulk was quick on his feel and strong enough to fight a giant wolf bigger than most humans.

He dodged the beast's maw as he tried to take a bite out of him, and the Hulk punched him in the nose. Based on the growl, Fenny did not like that. Fenris lunged again. This time, scratching the Hulk's bicep, causing emerald green blood to drip down his arm. Uh-oh!

* * *

 **MIDGARD**

Ahead of them, there was the head of a serpent twice the size of their Jet with crimson scales the size of Steve's shield. Bucky glared. He thought he and Steve had seen it all in the war, but the world never seems to run out of surprises. "Hey Doll, Please tell me we got something on this bird that can damage that thing!" He asked the older of the two redheads. He's been on plenty of suicide missions before, but this... He doesn't even know how to put a scratch on him unless Tony put a Nuke on this thing.

Nat looked him dead in the eye. "Tony isn't too fond of weapons any more, but I did manage to 'borrow' a prototype bomb or three from SHIELD." Nat pulled out three devices each the size of a textbook. "These are not to be used lightly. I'm probably going to be spending spring break on the Raft for taking these from SHIELD custody. They have enough kick to level Philadelphia, maybe New York."

Bucky thanked God that they were not battling in a populated area. "Well, we're not in Philadelphia, and if we don't take care of that thing, the world is toa-"

Before Bucky could say another word, a giant shockwave caught them off guard, and he had to pilot the jet to stay in the sky. The two Russians looked to see Nora working to take down the serpent. There was no way in HELL he was ever letting the government near that girl. They'd only see power and strip away her soul to get to it. Sadly, that did not do as much damage as hoped, and the monster's cold, unblinking, sulfur yellow eyes were staring directly at the young woman he grew attached to and saw as his baby sister in this overly dramatic pseudo family.

"F**K NO!" He yelled and grabbed a bomb.


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry it has been a while, and I can't guarantee any updates til July when I will finally have all of my classes completed. I have been busy with classes, reports, and work to pay for the clases.**

 **For the record, My version of Infinity Wars is also going to be different from Marvel's. Some things I may keep, others... nope.**

 **ASGARD**

The beast snarled at Hulk and Bruce quickly scanned for something, anything to bandage the laceration on his biceps. One thing the world governments often forgot when they sent their tanks, bombs, copters, etc was that his blood quite literally oozed with radioactivity. He could never afford to bleed for fear of what would happen if a civilian was exposed to it... just look at that old guy who was exposed to one drop during the bottling incident? Plus, you know, Ross's henchmen trying to gather samples to weaponize or destroy him, depending on the week. Whose idea was it to let the man who has no qualms jeopardizing civilians in this madness Secretary of State again? Especially with the amount of international incidents he nearly caused in his hunt for a man who preferred to be left alone and tried to do good for the communities he hid in? If they are very lucky, Ross will wait until his return before sacrificing another few million tax payer dollars and hopefully no lives (he's come to an understanding that the other guy is to knock out `the bad men` rather than destroy) to his obsession with the Hulk. Luckily, this is Asgard, land of waaaay too many curtains. No wonder Thor is so fond of drapery.

Hulk swatted away Fenrir just long enough to bandage the wound, but Fenrir was already showing signs of weakness. Well, he can treat radiation sickness once the pup was defeated and hopefully placed in the infirmary. He just has to work on incapacitating the pup. Only catch is what are they going to do once the battle is over? We can't just imprison him, that only ever makes things worse. This is going to be such a mess.

* * *

 **WITH THOR**

Why must family always be this complicated? Can't he come home once without being cast into one of those bathing pageantries (soap operas) son of Stark seems so fond of mewling over on the seeing box. He comes home to his niece and nephew trying to destroy all of Asgard because the All-father is a fool! Thor launched himself into another charge with Mjolnir at the ready, only for it to prove once again fruitless. Not only that, but there was a sudden blinding pain in his right e- His Eye! What happened to his eye?!

* * *

 **WITH LOKI**

"Now, you _really_ remind me of Odin!" She gloated. Loki shook his head, imagining a life where she had been raised by a theatre troupe in a happy life rather than cast into hell with naught but a babe`s swaddling blanket to keep her sa-

Is that her same blanket being used as a cape? The one he infused with as much magic was in his being to protect her in her banishment for a crime she had not yet thought to commit? If he was right, he knew how to stop her and spare her life. The problem was how to execute the plan without his blundering bilgesnipe of a brother derailing it?

* * *

 **MIDGARD**

"Language, Bucky..." Natasha joked.

Bucky rolled his eyes. One Steve is enough. One Steve is all that kept him sane during the War. One Steve is enough to drive him insane both before and after the War to the point where to this day, he carries around an inhaler, a modern miracle, in his go-bag in case Steve's asthma comes back. He quickly tossed it to the redhead. "Nat, Promise me that if I don't make it back, you'll protect that boy from Brooklyn before his morals and optimism get him killed." He then remember's the incident at the world fair where Steve wondered off to a recruitment office and nearly gave him a heart attack. "Get one of those backpack leash thingies if you have too. He better be the first man to reach his 200th birthday!"

Nat positioned the Quinjet just above the snake's head. "Already ordered him and Tony matching ones on Amazon Prime."

Without another word, Bucky made the jump.

* * *

 **With Nora**

Nora hit as hard as she could, but it wasn't enough. This thing has to go down! Why wasn't it going down?!

A strange texture rubs against her cheek, _no, can't be her_ , Nora thought as she recognized the sensation to be that of a feather. She turned her turquoise eyes left to see a tornado of ebony feathers before they disappeared, revealing none other than Grampa Eye-patch wielding a golden spear! There was a thud, and to her right was her Puppy-Man!

Puppy-Man glared at Grampa Eye-patch. "As much as I would love your twenty minute long exposition, we don't have time. Just tell me who the hell are you? And are you here to help or hurt us?" He then stepped protectively in front of Nora, just in case...

A single eye glared at the silver-armed man. "I am Odin, King of Asgard, here to assist my granddaughter, Nora Thordottir in slaying my ward, Loki's spawn!"

The hell! Nora wanted to correct this man. Her name is Nora VALKYRIE. She doesn't have a father, and if she did, he's dead. That was the only answer she was going to accept to why her father wasn't there to protect her and her mom. There was also NO WAY she was a princess. Her life is not that happy. Princesses don't dig through the trash for stale bread to eat like she did. Also, if the stories were correct, this mess was all his fault anyway. But now wasn't the time to argue. If the crazy old man wanted to help, who were they to deny him?

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile on Remnant_**

 _Yang glared at a man thrice her size._ "You don't need to die today, only Ozpin," _he said. As much as Yang no longer cared if Ozpin died, there was still Oscar, who didn't deserve it, and Yang needed to put down Salem's lapdogs before anyone else dies. There will not be any more children sacrificing their lives for this chess game between Salem and Ozpin._

* * *

 **With Nora**

The three of them had managed to blind Jormangandr by hammering the spear into the serpent's unblinking eyes, but he wasn't going down quite so easily. If anything, they made him angrier, and he unleashed another quake. The beast shook its head hard enough to toss everyone into the air. Bucky landed on top of the quinjet. Nora and Odin were not as lucky. From the angle she was falling at, it looked like she would fall right into the gaping mouth of the beast. Nora glared, if this was it, she was not going to cower. Ren is waiting for her.


End file.
